The Carlos Cougars survived a scare to advance into the Region 14C baseball tournament as the Resorters East champions.
The Cougars dropped their first game of the season with a 7-3 loss to Clarissa on July 17. That came after a dominating pitching performance that saw two Cougars combine to throw a no-hitter in a 10-0 opening-round victory against Urbank-Parkers Prairie on July 12.
The loss to Clarissa forced Carlos to come up through the loser’s bracket for a chance at the East title. The Cougars did that with a 15-5 win over Urbank-Parkers Prairie on July 24. That sent them to the championship where they would need to win twice to capture the title.
Carlos forced a second game with a 15-5 win over the Flyers in the first game. The second game was a much tighter battle as the Cougars executed down the stretch to win the championship with a 3-2 victory.
Carlos 3, Clarissa 2
It took a late rally for Carlos to pick up its fourth win of the season over the Flyers.
Down 2-0, the Cougars scored twice in the eighth and again in the ninth to walk off with the championship.
Aaron Noetzelman and Troy Putnam provided most of the offense for Carlos. Noetzelman went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Putnam added two hits, a run and an RBI. Neil Jenzen also added an RBI.
It was Jenzen who kept the Cougars in position to pick up the win. He threw the first eight innings and allowed just two runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out four before being replaced by Nate Hoelscher in the ninth. Hoelscher picked up the win in a dominant ninth inning that saw him strike out the side.
Carlos 15, Clarissa 0
The Cougars could breathe a little easier in the first game of the championship.
They jumped out early with four runs in the first and never looked back on their way to a seven-inning victory. It was an 11-0 game after four innings. They added four in the seventh to put the finishing touches on the win.
Joe Snaza had a big day at the plate with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Hoelscher went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Jenzen added a hit with two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored.
That was plenty of offense for starter Ben Bruggeman. Bruggeman cruised to the complete-game victory. He allowed just two hits and three walks, while striking out six.
Carlos 15,
Urbank-Parkers Prairie 5
An elimination game between two teams that met in the opening game of the tournament for Carlos saw much of the same as the Cougar offense made things easy.
Carlos used an eight-run sixth inning to break open a 2-2 game. The Cougars added on after that, scoring twice in the seventh and three in the eighth to end the game early.
Justin Steidl and Jenzen had huge days at the plate with five RBIs apiece. Jenzen had two home runs and a double on a 4-for-6 day with three runs scored, while Steidl did it with three hits, scoring twice.
Jenzen also picked up the win in 3 1/3 innings of relief work. He came on for Bruggeman in the third and allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits and six walks. He struck out three. Snaza finished off the final 2 2/3 innings by allowing just two walks and striking out three.
Clarissa 7, Carlos 3
The Cougars were in uncharted territory when they dropped their first game of the season in their second game of the tournament.
They came into the game with a 17-0 record and two wins against the Flyers. Clarissa responded by scoring first and adding five runs in the fourth to give them some breathing room. The Cougars tried to rally back with two runs in the ninth but it was not quite enough as the Flyers forced the top-seeded Cougars into the losers’ bracket.
Matt Hoelscher took the loss for Carlos in six innings of work. He allowed six runs, three earned, on six hits, while striking out four.
A normally potent offense for the Cougars was held at bay in this one. Noah Johnson and Greg Nathe each had an RBI and a base hit.
Carlos 10,
Urbank-Parkers Prairie 0
In a game that saw plenty of offense, it was the pitching of the Cougars that stole the show in the tournament opener.
Bruggeman and Jenzen combined to toss a no-hitter in the eight-inning game. Bruggeman started and went six innings, allowing four walks and striking out eight.
Jenzen came on in the seventh and threw the final two innings. He walked one and struck out four.
The Carlos offense made things easy on both pitchers by scoring in every inning but the sixth. The Cougars put up three in the opening frame and two in the fifth as they continued to add to their lead.
Snaza, Jenzen and Ryan Severson each had two RBIs in the game. Johnson added two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Carlos hopes to carry the momentum of the Resorters tournament into Region 14C play this Friday when they open up with an 8 p.m. game against the Hi-10 wildcard team in Clarissa.
A win there would send them to New York Mills on Saturday for a 5 p.m. first pitch. A loss would send the Cougars to a 2 p.m. game in New York Mills.
Clarissa also advanced to the Region 14C field. The Flyers will take on the Lake and Pine South runner-up at 8 p.m. in Perham this Friday. A win would send them to an 8 p.m. match-up in New York Mills on Saturday. A loss would keep them in Perham for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday.
The winner of the Region 14C tournament will be decided at 4:30 p.m. in Perham on August 16.
GAME STATISTICS
CLARISSA 100 000 100 – 2 9 3
CARLOS 000 000 021 – 3 8 0
CARLOS PITCHING – Neil Jenzen – 8IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 4BB, 4SO; Nate Hoelscher – (W) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3SO
CARLOS HITTING – Aaron Noetzelman – 2-4, 2 runs, BB; Troy Putnam – 2-5, 1 run, RBI; Neil Jenzen – 1-1, 2B, RBI, BB; Joe Snaza – 0-3; Justin Steidl – 0-3, BB; Brad Nyberg – 0-4; Ryan Severson – 1-1; Greg Nathe – 0-1; Matt Hoelscher – 1-2; Noah Johnson – 0-1; Ben Bruggeman – 1-4
CARLOS 422 300 4 – 15 12 0
CLARISSA 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
CARLOS PITCHING – Ben Bruggeman – (W) 7IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 6SO
CARLOS HITTING – Noetzelman – 0-4, BB, 1 run; Steidl – 0-1, 4 BB, 2 runs; Snaza – 3-4, 3 RBI, 2 runs; Jenzen – 1-3, 3B, 2BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Nyberg – 1-2, 2 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI; Steidl – BB, 1 run, RBI; Nathe – 0-5, 1 run; Johnson – 1-2, 1 run; Justin Cummins – 1-1, 1 run, 2 RBI, BB; Matt Hoelscher – 3-5, 1 run, 2 RBI; Bruggeman – 2-5, 2 runs, RBI
CARLOS 001 108 23 – 15 17 2
URBANK-PP 101 003 00 – 5 4 2
CARLOS PITCHING – Ben Bruggeman – 2IP, 1H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 2SO; Neil Jenzen – (W) 3 1/3IP, 2H, 3R, 2ER, 6BB, 3SO; Joe Snaza – 2 2/3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 3SO
CARLOS HITTING – Noetzelman – 2-3, HR, 2BB, 2 runs, RBI; Steidl – 3-6, 2 2B, 2 runs, 5 RBI; Snaza – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run, RBI; Jenzen – 4-6, 2 HR, 3 runs, 5 RBI; Nyberg – 2-5, 1 run; Nathe – 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI; Johnson – 1-3, 2B, 1 run, RBI; Spencer Timm – 1-1, BB, 1 run; Matt Hoelscher – 0-4, BB, 1 run; Bruggeman – 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 runs
CLARISSA 100 500 001 – 7 11 1
CARLOS 000 001 002 – 3 8 5
CARLOS PITCHING – Matt Hoelscher – (L) 6IP, 6H, 6R, 3ER, 0BB, 4SO; Mark Hillesheim – 3IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 6SO
CARLOS HITTING – Noetzelman – 1-3, 2B, 1 run, BB; Steidl – 1-4; Snaza – 1-4; Jenzen – 1-4, 2B, 1 run; Nyberg – 1-4; Severson – 0-2; Johnson – 1-2, 2B, 1 run, RBI; Nathe – 1-3, 2B, RBI; Matt Hoelscher – 1-4; Bruggeman – 0-4
URBANK-PP 000 000 00 – 0 0 2
CARLOS 311 120 11 – 10 12 0
CARLOS PITCHING – Ben Bruggeman – (W) 6IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 4BB, 8SO; Neil Jenzen – 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4SO
CARLOS HITTING – Noetzelman – 1-4, SB, 2 runs, BB; Putnam – 1-2, 2B, SB, 2 runs, RBI, 2BB; Snaza – 2-5, 2 RBI; Jenzen – 1-3, 1 run, 2 RBI; Nyberg – 1-3, 2B, 2 runs; Cummins – 0-1; Severson – 1-4, 2 RBI; Nathe – 0-1; Johnson – 2-4, 1 run, RBI; Matt Hoelscher – 1-3, 2BB, 1 run; Bruggeman – 2-4, 1 run, RBI, BB, SB
Tags: alexandria sports, area sports, sports, 14c, 16c, region, amateur, baseball, carlos
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